Razor Sharp. Fern Michaels
offender, Myra. You, all by yourself, set the tone for these young women. Because you’re miserable, they think they have to be miserable. You’re all like a pack of wet-haired cats.
“Just because Charles isn’t here doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Is he coming back? I don’t know. But if he does, I think we should take a vote to see if we want him to stay. Is that ever going to happen? I have no idea. In the meantime, time does not stand still. We didn’t do terribly bad out in Utah even though we didn’t have a plan. That won’t happen again. Yet we pulled it off. And hopefully, we learned from our mistakes.”
“We have cabin fever. Winters up here are the pits,” Kathryn said defensively.
“They weren’t the pits when Charles was here,” Myra said.
“Maybe they weren’t the pits for you, but they were for the rest of us,” Nikki said. “All we can do is read, watch TV, eat, and shovel snow. So, don’t blow smoke in our direction. You need to let it go and join in. Otherwise, I’m going to follow Annie’s lead, leave the mountain, and take my chances.”
The others murmured agreement. Myra stood up and walked over to the fireplace, where she held out her hands for warmth even though the room was stifling hot. She knew Annie and the girls were right. It was time to move on without Charles. She turned around, and observed, “Annie and Nikki are right. I’m sorry, I really am. I just…It’s hard to turn your back on a lifetime of love and devotion that…that wasn’t returned. I think my pity party has just come to an end. I can’t promise I won’t have a relapse, and if I do, Annie, you get the first shot at pushing me off the mountain.”
“Now that’s the Myra I know and love,” Annie said happily, clapping her hands. “Let’s clean up this mess and get on with it. I have something to tell you all. And the reason I’m the one who is going to be doing the telling is because as usual I am the one who answered the damn phone. And, no, it is not about Charles, so don’t even go there. What do you think of that?”
“What? What?” Myra and the girls chorused.
Annie crossed her arms over her chest as she looked pointedly at the dinner table. The women scurried to clear away the remains of the dinner no one but Annie had eaten. Only when Annie heard the hum of the dishwasher did she relax and sit down.
“Tell us,” Yoko said.
“Weather permitting, even not permitting, we are due to have guests tomorrow evening. I’m not sure who all is coming but I know for sure Harry, Jack, and Bert will be here. I expect we’ll know more later. Having said that, someone had better come up with a menu that three strapping men will like.”
“What’s going on? Are we going to be planning a mission? Does someone need our help?” Alexis asked, her dark eyes shining with excitement.
“Yes and yes. And it came through Mr. Cricket in Las Vegas, who more or less turned it over to Lizzie, who then got in touch with Maggie and Jack early this morning, at which point Jack brought Harry and Bert into it. I don’t have too many details but Maggie said we are absolutely going to LOVE this mission.”
“That’s it? That’s all she said? Come on, Annie, I know Maggie told you more than that,” Nikki said.
Satisfied that she had everyone’s attention, Annie leaned toward the table. “Well, she did say a wee bit more.”
Suddenly Myra was on her feet and standing behind Annie’s chair. “And that wee bit more would be what?” she asked, wrapping her hands around Annie’s throat.
“The new president wants our help because her brand-new administration is full of guys who like to hire hookers. Something about the Happy Day Camp outside Vegas, which is a brothel!” Annie gasped.
“Oh, good Lord,” Myra said, making her way to her chair where she sat down with a loud thump.
“Madams and johns?” Kathryn asked, her eyes as big as saucers.
“Right down to camp counselors, and I will leave it to your imagination as to who those beautiful, long-legged ‘counselors’ were. The camp boys are members of the administration, congressmen, senators, a couple of ambassadors. Name it, and they all went to camp. Not once, but twice!” Annie said happily as she looked around at the shocked faces of her Sisters.
“How long have you known about this?” Myra asked ominously.
“Just never you mind, Myra Rutledge. You were so busy feeling sorry for yourself, you didn’t deserve to know. Now that you’re back among the living, it’s okay for you to get the whole scoop,” Annie said imperiously. “We need to start making a plan.”
“What did you mean when you said the prez wants our help?” Nikki asked.
“Lizzie turned her down. Reminded her that she was running a debit where we’re concerned. I’m not absolutely sure about this, but I think the president wanted us to help the Happy Campers. The men!” Annie said, her disgust apparent in her voice.
“When pigs fly,” Kathryn snapped. “I vote no on that, but I’m willing to go after them. I guess the president’s plan as it now stands would be to pin it on the madam and let the campers off the hook. Not!”
Nikki nervously tapped her fingers on the table, her brow furrowed. “If we don’t help the president, what will that do to the pardon she promised?” she asked.
Annie shook her head. “I don’t know. For her even to ask is something I’m having trouble comprehending. From what Maggie said, Lizzie set her straight.”
“I remember reading about the D.C. Madam last year,” Yoko said. “She died not too long ago. There seemed to be a good deal of speculation that she might not have committed suicide, which was the story they put out there. I do not recall reading anything after that about her…uh…clients.”
Kathryn scoffed. “Those creeps always walk away. The worst thing they have to deal with is their spouses. They don’t care what their families have to go through. So they get divorces and move on to the next set of bimbos. What’s wrong with this picture?”
“Does that mean the madam is going to be our client?” Myra asked.
“Noooo, Myra, I don’t think so. I think this is a freebie on our part. I’m all for it if that’s the way it turns out. We have more than enough of a balance in our trust account for a freebie,” Annie said.
“Then who is the client?” Isabelle asked.
“No client. We’re just going to avenge the madam and make the men pay. If the madam turns out to be Lizzie’s client, she’s in good hands. Why should the madam swing in the wind while those damn guys walk away with no jail time? The madam is the one who will get sentenced. Look, I’m not saying I approve of prostitution because I don’t, even if it’s legal in Nevada and is the oldest profession in the world. I think when we see the list, and I do believe there is a list of the madam’s clients, we’ll make the decision to do whatever we decide based on all the families that are involved, possibly ruined, by men who couldn’t keep their pants zipped. Let’s see a show of hands if you agree with me or not.”
Every hand shot in the air.
“That makes it unanimous,” Annie said happily.
“That’s it! You don’t know anything else?” asked Myra.
“No, I don’t. I’m sure by tomorrow we’ll know all we need to know. We can’t do anything anyway until we have the list. For now, we need to clean up from dinner, then we have to shovel snow from the cable car to the door, so let’s get the menu thing wrapped up. There will be no more stuff dumped in one pot and called ‘hash.’ We have a fully stocked freezer and larder. I want to see menus. Like now!”
The Sisters fell to it as they squabbled about what vegetable went with what meat and which wine was the one Charles would have served. It took an hour before everyone agreed to a week’s worth of menus that passed with Annie’s and Myra’s